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Agent Kallus found himself on some small, backwater moon thanks to his most recent assignment. Apparently there had been some rebel activity in the moon’s one and only city, which Kallus had been sent to investigate due to its proximity to the Lothal system.
He’d gone in with as small a squad as possible and sent them to search the city. Kallus was going to report that the rebels had left, regardless of if he found anything–he just hoped the rumours were rumours, and his troopers didn’t find anything before he did.
Kallus wandered down an alleyway off the main market square. He’d made an act of asking the locals about any suspicious activity, but naturally, none of them had wanted to actually talk to him. Which was fair, Kallus couldn’t blame them. He was still pretending to be an ISB Agent, after all.
The Agent was lost in thought and he didn’t notice when a nearby door slid open. What he did notice was when a large hand closed around his arm and yanked him inside.
The door slid closed and Kallus’ hand instinctively went to his blaster. He found himself pressed back against some shelving–it must be some sort of storage room–the dim lighting casting most of the room in shadow.
“Woah, hey, easy.”
“ Garazeb ?”
Kallus lowered his blaster as he looked at the Lasat incredulously. Zeb gave him an apologetic grin, his hands raised up in a placating manner. “Sorry, guess I shoulda known better than to surprise you.”
“I could have shot you,” Kallus holstered his blaster, pulling away from the shelves digging into his back. “What are you even doing here?”
“Came here and made some noise, hoped the Imps would send you to take a look,” Zeb said with a shrug. “And look at that, here you are.”
“You–,” Kallus pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He had no idea how the rebels had managed to survive this long, with their dangerous and half-baked schemes. “You know there are other ways to contact me.”
“No, there’s ways to contact Fulcrum ,” Zeb said. “I needed to talk to Kallus. ”
“Well make it quick,” Kallus bristled, his arms crossed over his chest.
The storage room they were in was small and cramped, meaning there wasn’t much space between the two men. Kallus was acutely aware of this fact–ever since he’d crash landed on that ice moon with Zeb, thoughts and feelings Kallus had been repressing had come tumbling through his walls. Kallus had been forced to reconcile not only with the fact that he had been aiding a corrupt and unjust system, but also that he had developed an attraction to the Lasat.
“A pleasure as always, Kal,” Zeb huffed. “Why didn’t you go with Ezra and Kanan?”
Kallus raised a brow at the question. “You’re referring to the extraction mission? Surely Bridger and Jarrus told you what happened.”
“Yeah, they did,” Zeb grunted. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“Fulcrum can still do more good on the inside,” Kallus said. “I kept the suspicion off of myself by framing Lyste, and it will give me more time to be useful.”
“If you come and join us at our base you can be useful and alive ,” Zeb said, emphasising the last word. “If the Imps discover you, you know you’re as good as dead.”
“Oh, no I’m not,” Kallus said. “If I’m discovered, death is not what awaits me. At least not immediately. Thrawn would have something much worse in mind.”
Zeb’s ears pressed flat against his skull as he frowned. “How can you be so calm about this?”
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Kallus explained. “When I’m discovered as Fulcrum, I’ll go out knowing I at least did something to make up for what I’ve done.”
The Lasat was very obviously not impressed with Kallus’ answer, which the agent didn’t really understand. It made perfect sense in his mind–he knew when he joined the ISB that he likely wouldn’t survive to retirement. He always justified that if he could at least make his time worthwhile, he would be okay with that.
He had a lot to repent for, but he hoped the information he leaked to the rebellion would make a difference.
Kallus was startled when Zeb made a low sound that could only be described as a growl. The Lasat looked off to the side, a deep frown on his face.
“What the hell do they teach you at that academy,” Zeb mumbled, more to himself than Kallus.
“I don’t understand why you care,” Kallus said. Zeb was very close, only a step or so in front of the agent. Kallus could easily reach out and close the distance, but he kept his arms folded tensely across his chest.
“I don’t understand why you don’t ,” Zeb looked at him. This close, Kallus really noticed their height difference. Zeb practically towered over him, making Kallus feel small.
“This is war, Zeb,” Kallus said. “Sacrifices have to be made.”
“This isn’t ‘sacrifice’ you’re talkin’ about, Kal,” Zeb said gruffly. “This is basically suicide. You coulda left with Ezra and been safe, with us, at the base. Instead you just insist on keepin’ yourself in harms way.”
“Half a cycle ago you would have pushed me out of an airlock yourself,” Kallus said. He was poking the wampa, he knew he was. “At least now I’m saving you the hassle of getting your hands dirty.”
Zeb ran a hand over his face with an exasperated groan. “ Kallus ,” he growled, fixing Kallus with a glare. “You are the most stubborn and insufferable human I know.”
“I’m honoured,” Kallus drawled, rolling his eyes.
Kallus gasped as he was pushed back against the shelves roughly, Zeb’s hands on his shoulders. He moved closer, reminding Kallus that Lasat were indeed predators. Kallus gripped the shelves behind him, staying as still as possible as he determined what Zeb was doing.
The last thing Kallus expected was for Zeb to lean down, closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together.
Kallus felt himself go tense as he forgot how to breathe. Zeb pressed into the kiss insistently, almost desperately, keeping the agent pinned in place with large hands on his shoulders. Kallus couldn’t seem to get his brain to talk to the rest of his body as he remained frozen in place.
Zeb broke the kiss but remained close. Kallus could feel how red his cheeks were getting, his eyes widened as he stared at the Lasat.
“ That is why I care so much,” Zeb said, his tone softer than before. His grip tightening on Kallus’ shoulders, not meeting the agent’s eyes. “You’re important to me, Kallus. I’ve lost enough people I care about and I–”
His voice caught in his throat and he trailed off. Kallus’ brain seemed to finally reconnect, and he raised his hands to cup Zeb’s face and force the Lasat to look at him.
Unable to think of anything to say, Kallus just pulled Zeb down into another kiss. He felt Zeb relax and wind his arms around Kallus’ waist, returning the kiss eagerly. Kallus was pulled flush against Zeb as they kissed, and kissed, and kissed–
Kallus pulled away when his commlink let out a high pitched beep. Zeb didn’t move away from him, but stayed quiet when Kallus answered the comm.
“Kallus here,” he hoped he didn’t sound as breathless as he felt, especially with Zeb’s face pressed against his neck.
“Sir, we’ve done several sweeps of the city,” the trooper on the other end said. “We’ve found no evidence of rebel activity.”
“Very well,” Kallus slipped back into his ISB persona easily. “Return to the ship, I will join you there.”
Kallus switched off the comm and clipped it back to his belt as Zeb pulled back to look at him. The air was still between them.
“Kal–”
“Just give me a little more time,” Kallus said, his tone soft.
“Only if you promise to go with the next extraction team we send,” Zeb replied.
Kallus couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. “Okay,” he said with a nod. “I promise.”
The Lasat smiled and pressed another quick kiss against Kallus’ mouth. “You go out first, I’ll stay here for a bit before I leave, just to be safe.”
“Oh, so you are capable of strategic planning,” Kallus teased, laughing at the look Zeb shot him. “I won’t be going anywhere if you don’t let go of me, though.”
Zeb actually looked sheepish as he pulled back from Kallus. “Be careful, okay, Kal?”
“As careful as I can be,” Kallus smoothed down his hair and made sure his uniform was still presentable as he walked over to the door. Just before he hit the door controls, he paused and looked over his shoulder at Zeb.
“By the way, it’s Alexsandr,” Kallus said. Zeb’s ears perked up, watching him. “My name. It’s Alexsandr.”
Kallus stepped outside and closed the door behind him.